By IANS,
New Delhi : India is doing more than its fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but developed countries need to be more sensitive to carbon emission, said the latest economic survey.
Tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Thursday, a chapter on Sustainable Development and Climate Change has been for the first time introduced in the annual survey.
The survey recognises that sustainable development and climate change are becoming central areas of global concern, and India is equally concerned and engaged constructively in global negotiations.
“Climate change challenges ahead are large and India is doing more than its fair share in reducing its energy-intensity of growth,” it said.
The survey suggests making lower carbon sustainable growth a central element of the 12th Five Year Plan commencing in April 2012.
Citing the climate change talks in Durban last year which has set some directions for appropriate responses to climate change, the survey hopes that the Earth Summit in Rio in June 2012 will take stock of sustainable development priorities globally.
It says that as a responsible and enlightened member of the international community, India showed flexibility along with other developing countries toward the success of the Durban Conference.
“Developed countries are expected to reciprocate the flexibility shown by G-77 countries and India at Durban,” it said.
This new chapter reflects the growing challenges of sustainable development and climate change.
Pressures on land, air, water, forests and loss of plant and animal habitant are growing. The survey cautions that a warming planet is already causing adverse effects, such as more frequent extreme weather events.
The survey points out that India’s per capita carbon emissions are much lower than those of the developed countries even if historical emissions are excluded.
“Nevertheless, India has already taken a number of actions on voluntary basis with own resources in pursuance of a sustainable development strategy like adoption of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and announcing domestic goal of reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 20-25 percent of the 2005 level by 2020 is a noteworthy measure,” it said.